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Post World War I Dbq Essay

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During the 1930s, American public opinion and foreign policy favored isolationism due to the economic hardships of the Great Depression and the recent catastrophic losses in World War I. Isolationists supported non-involvement in international conflicts. Although the United States avoided military confrontation in Europe and Asia, it continued to defend its economic interests in Latin America and supported international free trade. By the 1940s, public opinion shifted from advocating complete neutrality to shipping limited aid to the Allies in the emergence of World War II. Similarly, Pearl Harbor escalated American involvement in world affairs. The combination of the Red Scare and McCarthy’s list led the United States to adopting containment …show more content…

Senator Gerald Nye of North Dakota argued ammunition companies “brought into play the most despicable side of human nature; lies, deceit, hypocrisy, greed, and graft” (doc. 5.5). After World War I ended, there was no longer a need to produce mass warfare equipment, resulting in layovers for the working class and the economic hardships of the Great Depression. Americans argued that marginal interests in World War I did not justify the number of American casualties. Additionally, because the wounds of World War I were still so fresh, the United States refused to get involved in military conflict and instead, participated in global affairs only through free trade. Roosevelt advocated in order to maintain international peace, trade remained crucial because a country could simply not thrive on “self-contained existence” (doc. 5.4). Low tariffs and trading natural resources encouraged serenity and …show more content…

The United States sought to prevent the spread of communism, in order to limit the Soviet Union’s global authority. Americans viewed communism as a direct threat to democracy, free-market values, and civil liberties. They feared “communists are dedicated to the overthrow” of the American government (doc. 7.10). Due to the domino effect, Americans feared if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, the surrounding countries would follow. In order to protect American security and belittle the Soviet Union’s global authority, the United States intervened in Korea and Vietnam. Additionally, Joseph McCarthy, the junior senator from Wisconsin, claimed he had “a list of 205” traitorous U.S. government employees who were secretly communist (doc. 7.14). This sparked mass fear among American society, due to the concerte number given of 205. The belief that there was enemies from within further encouraged Americans to adopt the foreign policy of containment to ensure communism would not threaten American democracy and

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